With the 2017 holidays rapidly approaching, Internet retailers are desperately looking for opportunities to generate more awareness and acquire more users - particularly as those shoppers use their mobile devices. One of the channels through which sellers hope to do that, of course, is search advertising and Google has released a rather innovative offering just in time for the shopping season.

The company launched Showcase Shopping ads (seen below), a format that will enable brands to curate a collection of "lifestyle" images/products to help consumers locate products they may want to purchase.

Google actually began testing the Showcase Shopping ads last year (2016) and found that shoppers who engage with them were more likely to consider those brands as they narrowed down their search. On average, according to Google, users search for a merchant’s brand terms twice as often after they’ve expanded that brand’s Showcase Shopping ad. That will not go unnoticed.

Brands like Overstock.com, for example, are already seeing the benefit. The retailer reportedly created over 50 Showcase Shopping ads and saw a 3x increase in brand searches and 32 percent more click-assisted conversions leading to a purchase compared to standard Shopping ads. That's performance that's hard to ignore.

Google is also rolling out a new search experience for fashion/apparel which will include a richer visual design alongside brand logos, and filters that will enable shoppers to narrow down options based on sizing and price. Google will also show "similar looks," recommendations that are based on a user's previous clothing preferences.